Why Ignoring Instagram Stories Is Costing You More Than You Think

If you’re ignoring Instagram Stories, you’re already at a marketing disadvantage. 🤷🏻‍♀️

That might sound blunt—but it’s the truth. With over 80% of users tapping on Stories before scrolling through the feed or exploring Reels, Stories have quietly become the main stage of Instagram. Not the feed. Not the grid. Not even Reels. Stories are where your audience is actually watching.

And more importantly?
Stories are where your audience connects.

The Unfiltered Power of Stories

Unlike the polished perfection of grid posts or the catchy edits of Reels, Stories thrive on realness. They’re unfiltered. Instant. Behind-the-scenes. Organic. They’re bite-sized windows into who you really are—not just what you sell.

People don’t follow brands for more curation.
They follow for connection. For ease. For trust.

And trust is built in the casual, everyday moments you share—the coffee before a client call, the brainstorming session in your notebook, the voiceover as you walk through your workflow. These aren’t “marketing tactics,” they’re trust signals.

What Happens When You Skip Stories

Let’s be honest—every client I’ve ever lost had one thing in common:
👉🏼 They didn’t commit to showing up in Stories.

And it showed.

When you ignore Stories, the rest of your Instagram ecosystem starts to falter. Engagement drops. Connection weakens. Even your Reels and feed posts suffer because there’s no deeper layer of visibility behind them.

Stories are the heartbeat of your content strategy. Without them, everything else flatlines.

Can You Outsource Stories? Technically, Yes. Should You? Not Really.

There are agencies that will “do” your Stories for you—and yes, some of them do a great job. But here’s the truth:

Outsourcing your Stories is like having someone else do your kid’s homework.
It might check all the boxes, but it’s painfully obvious it wasn’t their voice.

The same goes for Stories.
When it’s not you showing up, your audience can feel the disconnect.

And once that trust is broken? It’s hard to get back.

Want to Do Stories Better? Help Is Here.

You don’t need to be perfect.
You don’t need a full storyboard.
You just need to show up—consistently and authentically.

If you’re not sure what to post in Stories or how to make them work for your brand, I offer Story coaching and content guidance for all my MCAT clients. But even if you’re not working with me (yet 😉), my DMs are always open. I’m happy to give you a few ideas to get started.

Because when you commit to Stories, everything else starts working better, too.

Xo,
Sarah